Category: Update

 

By Bob Elko : sfchronicle – excerpt

Backed by a tough-on-crime group, San Francisco attorney Albert “Chip” Zecher is challenging Superior Court Judge Michael Begert in the March 2024 election, a campaign with echoes of last year’s recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

Zecher, 59, has practiced law for nearly 33 years, most recently representing Silicon Valley tech firms, and was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to the board of directors at UC College of the Law in San Francisco. His mother, the late Marilyn Pestarino Zecher, was a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge from 1975 to 2004, and his sister, Vanessa Zecher, has been a judge on that court since 2001.

Zecher’s campaign describes him as a “lifelong Democrat who believes in restorative justice,” which seeks to assist crime victims rather than focusing solely on punishment. Asked by the Chronicle why he was a candidate, he gave only a general statement, saying he wants to “promote public safety and justice and assure that our judges are providing adequate accountability,” and could not discuss any of Begert’s rulings because of ethical standards.

But Frank Noto, president of Stop Crime Action, which supports Zecher, accused Begert of taking “a revolving-door approach” to criminal cases, sending defendants with violent records to drug courts for treatment rather than to prison.

An affiliated group, Stop Crime SF, also headed by Noto, has sent thousands of volunteer “court-watchers” to San Francisco courtrooms and announced in August that it would issue report cards on the sentencing practices and conduct of local judges seeking new terms next year…

Appointed to the bench by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2011, Begert no longer handles criminal cases, as he was recently put in charge of San Francisco’s CARE Court — Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment — a program established by Newsom and state lawmakers to remove mentally ill people from the streets and place them in treatment…(more)

By Rachel Swan : sfchronicle – excerpt

The official who oversees San Francisco’s $14 billion budget — and who helped steer the city through a Great Recession, tech booms, COVID shutdowns and difficult recovery, all while navigating the relentless factional wars in City Hall — has announced plans to step down next year.

“I’ve worked on the last 26 city budgets. I’ve spent over half of my life on the city’s budget and finances,” City Controller Ben Rosenfield said in an interview with the Chronicle.

“It feels like the right moment for me to think about what’s next and what’s different,” Rosenfield continued, discussing a career milestone in the same measured tone he would use to write an audit, or break down intricate budget documents to a layperson. He has not hinted at his next move…

“Everybody trusts him — the mayor, the board, homeless advocates, labor unions, downtown businesses — they believe what he says; they know he’s an honest person,” said Ed Harrington, the previous controller, who passed the torch to Rosenfield in 2008…

Comparable to a chief financial officer, the controller serves as a referee in the city budget process, managing accounts, paying vendors and employees, selling bonds and forecasting economic conditions. Additionally, the controller audits city departments and contracts and regularly makes recommendations. Last year, voters added another duty: monitor trash rates, after the city’s longtime waste hauler, Recology, was linked to a City Hall corruption scandal.

As San Francisco struggles to revive its downtown, the role of the city controller seems critical — and many of Rosenfield’s colleagues are dismayed to see him go…

“Whether it’s the current economic downturn, prior recessions, the passing of Mayor (Ed Lee), or COVID, he has always been the steadying force in the city,” Chu said. “You felt that if Ben was here and involved, then things would be OK.”…(more)

by Annie Gaus :sfstandard – excerpt

San Francisco voters could decide on a slew of changes to City Hall governance in November 2024 under a reform package that would grant the mayor more power over department heads and cut the number of boards and commissions.

Under a proposed ballot measure dubbed “Effective Governance,” Supervisor Rafael Mandelman wants to change the city’s charter to allow the mayor to directly fire and hire certain department heads, eliminate the ability of the mayor and Board of Supervisors to place initiatives on the ballot and authorize a task force that would consolidate or abolish some of the city’s dizzying array of commissions, board and advisory bodies… (more)

What is this rush to re-align the system by re-shuffling the power structure? This reminds me of tall those people who moved here and then decided to change our city to meet their needs. The structure may be difficult and overly heavy and the top, but, that is no excuse for not managing the city. The crime on the street and the impossible transportation system and trash on the streets is not going away any faster by rearranging the deck chairs. I like Lurie’s idea of bringing in the department heads and letting them reapply for their jobs. Good way to meet and evaluate people. Much better than threatening voters and blaming them for your problems doing your job. Hint to those in authority. Blaming the public for your problems does not make you look very good, smart, or friendly.

By Annie Gaus and Mike Ege : sfstandard – excerpt

A hearing over a ballot measure intended to increase San Francisco police ranks devolved into a rancorous debate at City Hall Monday, leaving the future of the measure up in the air.

The measure in question, authored by Supervisor Matt Dorsey, seeks to mandate that the police department reach full staffing within five years, adding about 100 officers per year and offering $75,000 hiring bonuses for new officers, among other provisions. At the Board of Supervisors’ Rules Committee, Supervisor Ahsha Safaí proposed amendments that Dorsey called “hostile” and a “poison pill” during a testy discussion.

Safaí and Supervisor Shamann Walton, along with labor organizers and members of progressive political groups, took issue with the measure’s estimated price tag of $300 million over 5 years, suggesting it should include a tax or other funding source and also be expanded to include staff for other first responder jobs, such as 911 operators.

“I find it strange it took you months to come up with a charter amendment that does absolutely nothing,” Walton said. “It’s a myth to get voters to think we can guarantee a minimum number of staffing. … This is something that can happen in the executive branch of government.”…(more)

By ANNIKA HOM : missionlocal – excerpt

The Westside is one step closer to raising the roof.
As a strategy to increase housing density, Supervisor Joel Engardio this summer proposed allowing six-story buildings on corner lots and four units on single lots in better resourced neighborhoods of San Francisco, including the Westside. The Planning Commission on Thursday passed three amendments to tweak it and lowered a height limit on corner lots from 65 feet to 55 feet, with no density change.

The one amendment prevents odd-shaped lot mergers, another clarifies rear yard space, and the third proposed by planning requested larger lot mergers…

All three modified legislation by Engardio that went into effect on Oct. 15 — one of several policies the Planning Commission must consider as San Francisco completes the ambitious task of creating some 82,000 homes over the next eight years.

Planners are zeroing in on the city’s well-resourced neighborhoods, which has historically avoided tall or dense buildings, to help fulfill that lofty goal…(more)

by George Kelly :sfstandard – excerpt

Fresh images for two new towers near San Francisco’s Caltrain station that could bring over 1,100 new homes to the area have been filed with the city.

Developer Tishman Speyer is behind the project at 655 Fourth St. between Townsend and Bluxome streets. The towers will both be over 400 feet tall. The 4th Street Tower, would be 38 floors tall and reach 405 feet; the Townsend Tower would be 40 stories tall and top out at 435 feet…

Construction of the podium building would require the demolition of three current buildings along with seven surface parking lots and landscaping. The site will be just steps from Caltrain and the Central Subway’s 4th/Brannan station as well as several minutes’ walk from the San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park.

When complete, it would include 129 studio apartments, 539 one-bedroom units, 400 two-bedroom apartments and 37 three-bedroom homes. Of the building’s total 1,105 residential units, 391 would have balconies for private open space.

READ MORE: Massive San Francisco ‘Floating Cube’ Tower May Bring 826 New Homes …(more)

More housing in SOMA proposed.

By James Salazar : sfexaminer – excerpt (includes audio track)

A critical lifeline for over 18,000 San Francisco households will soon come to an end.

Earlier this month, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank announced it would shutter roughly 20 pandemic-era pop-up pantries throughout the region by 2025 and roll back enrollment in its grocery delivery program, utilized by some 13,000 households.

The pop-ups, which opened in March 2020 in response to the pandemic, have become an essential service in a city where food insecurity impacts one in four San Franciscans…(more)

Letter in opposition to the Marina Green Project is posted here.

There may be a resolution coming later. Please sign onto this one or write your own and share with your neighbors who you think may be concerned about this matter.

Mari

Marina-Green-Letter PDF Document · 55 KB